Lauren Smart

Lauren Smart is a freelance journalist based in Dallas. She has covered the arts for magazines and newspapers throughout Texas, New York and South Carolina. She holds a master's in arts journalism from Syracuse University and bachelor degrees in journalism and creative writing from Southern Methodist University. An arts advocate and walking theater encyclopedia, she can usually be found poring over new plays or writing in a local coffee shop.

In FREUD'S LAST SESSION, Mark St. Germain imagines that in the final weeks of his life, the eponymous psychoanalyst summons Lewis to explain "why a man of your intellect, one who shared my convictions, could suddenly abandon truth and embrace an insidious lie."

Things you should know about me before we begin: I work at Klyde Warren Park (you know, the deck park over Woodall Rogers Freeway); I just willingly moved back to Dallas from New York City; I am in my 20's.

In Noel Coward's delightful comedy PRESENT LAUGHTER, now onstage at Theatre Three, there are women behind every door and secrets poured out with every sip of brandy. But there's something delicious about rich people with crisp British accents acting naughty.

"Stand by Me" may be one of the most frequently recorded songs of the 20th century, but when Akron Watson's silky voice glides into the first phrase near the end of SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE, he found my aural pleasure spot.

Even puppets are awkward in their intimate moments. Through July 29, audiences sit just a few feet from AVENUE Q residents when they're making whoopee in Theatre Too - the compact basement space of Theatre Three.

Steve Walters and Heath Gage are not gangsters - not even close. And the bits of rap they "busted out" for me at the Pearl Cup the afternoon before "The Bomb-itty of Errors" dress rehearsal would most aptly be described as "nerdcore."

Sometimes in the theater, actors astound you or moments leave you breathless. This weekend only, if you're willing to make the drive to Plano, there are two shows at two different theaters with particularly beautiful moments.

It's summer in Texas. That means it's time to fight sweltering temperatures with pool parties, ice water and air-conditioning. But in Dallas summer also means Broadway visits Fair Park and the Arts District (dare we call it, the Great Dusty Way?). And the Bard returns to his East Dallas home, Samuell Grand Park.